Some day - and that day may never come - I will call upon you to do a service for me.

The instantly recognisable words of the Godfather character Don Corleone as portrayed by Marlon Brando. That phrase has often entered the head of yours truly ever since the return of the prodigal son Kieran Tierney to Celtic was first floated.

The former Celtic and Arsenal defender's next football destination is looking more likely to be La Liga in Spain with Real Sociedad. It's a decent move to a side that is in the Champions League group stage and in a league that is classed as one of European football's top five.

Whilst Arsenal are keen to sell the left-back permanently, Real Sociedad is currently looking at a loan move. With regular trips to Camp Nou and the Santiago Bernabeu thrown in for good measure as well as the sun on your back, it equates to a no-brainer.

Tierney played 124 games for the North London club since signing in 2019 for a record fee of £25 million becoming the most expensive Scottish player ever. He impressed in his first two seasons at Arsenal winning the FA Cup in 2019/20 as well as earning massive praise for his work rate, leadership and attacking threat. He also won the FA Community Shield twice in 2020 and 2023.

READ MORE: The making of Kieran Tierney: Arsenal star's meteoric Celtic rise from fourth choice youth to £25m transfer

The 26-year-old hasn't featured in either of the Gunners' Premier League games so far this season having fallen out of favour and down the pecking order under ex-Rangers midfielder Mikel Arteta who preferred Oleksandr Zinchenko in the inverted role. Tierney then found himself linked with a switch to former Celtic managerial target Eddie Howe's Newcastle this summer. However, his number is seemingly up at the Emirates and the limited game time under Arteta seems to reflect that.

In his four seasons at the club, he was a stalwart for Arsenal whenever he was called upon to do duty despite suffering from some horrendous injuries at times. Tierney though revealed that for the majority of last season, he was totally fit and that was certainly evident whenever he pulled on the dark blue of Scotland.

He burst onto the Celtic scene under Norwegian boss Ronny Deila in the 2015/16 season and went on to lift four league titles, two Scottish Cups and two League Cups during a period of rampant domestic dominance for the men from Glasgow's east end. He was also named PFA Scotland Young Player of the Year three times and Celtic's Player of the Year once. He flourished under the tutelage of Rodgers during his first spell as Celtic boss and that's why people were putting two and two together and coming up with five.

Suddenly with the return of Rodgers, anything seemed possible for Celtic. Bringing Tierney home and getting some of the band back together didn't seem like such a flight of fancy - did it? Tierney on a loan deal would be the ultimate flexing of Celtic's financial muscle. It would be a statement of intent signing by the champions and show that they meant business under Rodgers.

The manager was always coy whenever the links reared their head but he never completely shut the speculation down. When the injuries started to pile up at the club with the likes of centre-backs Cameron Carter-Vickers, Maik Nawrocki, Stephen Welsh and right-back Alistair Johnston all crocked. The Tierney story served a function and purpose. All the Celtic dreamers and romanticists among us - of which yours truly is one - started to get doe-eyed and excited at the possibility that the dyed-in-the-wool legend was coming back to the club.

Celtic Way:

Tierney can play in the left centre-back position in a three or four if required. He's played there for Scotland with whom he's now amassed 39 caps and scored one goal. He has shown he's versatile. He would be a wonderful asset to Rodgers' Celtic even if was just for a year on loan.

It would be a glorious 12 months and for many worth the financial layout just to see the player pull on the Celtic jersey once again. It all started to make perfect sense. The dreamers were going into overdrive.

Then Rodgers in his Thursday press conference address decided to add a healthy dose of reality to the Tierney proceedings. He said: “Listen, I would never speak about Kieran other than the time when I had him here. He’s an Arsenal player and that’s where he is at.

“I think for Kieran himself, he’ll want to play. He’s not a young player anymore, he’s a player who will want to play football, no doubt. Especially where he was with Arsenal for his first couple of years and at times, captaining the club. They’ve got a really strong squad, Mikel has done a fantastic job. But for Kieran himself, I’m sure he’ll be looking to go out and play – that’s the way I would see it.”

READ MORE: Brendan Rodgers gives Kieran Tierney Celtic transfer update

Just as the speculation looked set to rumble into the last seven days of the transfer window. The faithful's hopes and dreams were still alive. Rodgers' words seemed to pour cold water on the flickering candle and the Celtic hero's audacious and sensational return to his adoring public was all but snuffed out.

This leads back to my original Godfather quote. For Real Sociedad, it's nothing personal, it's strictly football business. At this juncture of his career, the Basque club can afford to sign Tierney. The green and white hordes can console themselves with the fact that the stars will align. That day will come when Tierney is called upon to do a service once again for Celtic.

Just not yet.